Howdy Folks -and let us get in early and say MERRY CHRISTMAS to one and all!! Boy has time flown - only about 30 sleeps til Christmas now, unless you’re a P addict, then its only 3! Life is trucking along great here in Bahrain - the weather is cooling off now we’re well into winter - it was a chilling 23°C here today! - actually the temps have been quite pleasant - and it’s far more attractive to go for a walk, venturing to outside venues such as the beautiful coast side ancient Bahrain Fort, the Souq (traditional market) etc, [View Full Entry]

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With the Kiwi Soccer Team in Bahrain, it was an opportunity too good to miss. NZ and Bahrain meet for 2 matches, to decide who may go forward to the World Cup in South Africa. The Polytechnic organised us tickets, and as the Poly is very close to the Isa Town Stadium, we parked there and walked as a group, sporting suitably Kiwi flags/banners, colours and smiles. Jude and I sacrificed half an duvet cover to create a banner and used the Bahraini BAke Oven (ie put it outside) to dry the enamel paint in next to no time! Altho the [View Full Entry]

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It had to be done - and it was! Thanks to all the lovely people who visited our new abode to celebrate our "Housewarming" - we are lucky to have such beaut Kiwi/Poly Buddies here with whom to share such auspicious occasion! [View Full Entry]

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Howdy People - And warmest greetings from Sunny Bahrain. As predicted in our last blog entry - we’ve moved into our new apartment - YAY!! We are SO happy to be here, have more space and light, and a balcony (Bahrain’s version of indoor/outdoor living) a nice pool and games area, gym and neighbours! (The neat couple next door are from Gisborne!) We found the apartment a month ago, but it didn’t become vacant until last weekend, so we’ve been “waiting waiting”! The area we chose to live in, Adliya, is very popular with expats due to its plethora o [View Full Entry]

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Kia Ora Trendsetters, And Congrats to the All Blacks on their success against the Aussies - better late than never and Henry lives another day! There is quite a following of Kiwi’s who get together apparently, to watch the games in a nearby bar. It doubles as a great reason to have a beer for morning tea - we would have joined them, but took the opportunity of the long weekend here to zip down to Dubai, - just an hour away by jet. We had heard so much about this place and it’s so handy, and with a 3 nights [View Full Entry]

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Greetings Folks, - from Manama, Bahrain - and thanks for all the e-mails and messages received. Things are going well on our ‘working holiday ( Jude’s working - I’m on holiday ) - we are getting used to the way things work over here and settling in well. We and all the fellow expats are looking forward to the Eid Ul Fitr (Eid al fitter) which is a celebration marking the end of the month of daytime fasting (Ramadan). This will mean that cafes, restaurants and the like will be open during the day - a chance to go out for [View Full Entry]

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Here are some more pics relating to the previous text.... [View Full Entry]

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Greetings Folks - from a balmy 36®C in Sunny (AGAIN!) Manama, capital of Bahrain! We are settling in well, being well looked after and loving the sunshine, even though you need to avoid doing anything too strenuous outside unless you want to be dripping like a butchers display case! Having said that, I’ve started walking around the nearby area of Adliya, where we will be living in a few weeks, in order to get to know the area. I discovered why I couldn’t get the lie of the land so easily - the roads are curved! - so not laid out [View Full Entry]

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Here are some more pics relating to the previous entry - the site doesn't seem to like too many uploaded at once..... [View Full Entry]

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Ramadan Kareem from Bahrain! We lucked in big time flying in here from Hong Kong with an upgrade to Business Class - “another steamed towel and a couple of chardonnays please” was a nice way to enjoy an 8 hour flight. Airport formalities were quite easy, Jude was finger-printed and photographed, and I bought a 2 week visitor’s visa for 5 Dinar (20 NZ bucks) and all was good - we knew that this was going to happen and all is in order! My visa will be extended by the Polytech until Jude’s residency comes thru (I think), tho I may [View Full Entry]

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